Exploring perceptions of self-stigma of substance use and current alcohol and marijuana use patterns among college students.

BACKGROUND: While research has examined the effect of stigma from others towards individuals with substance use disorders, few studies have examined the relationship between perceived self-stigma and engagement in substance use more broadly, especially among non-clinical samples. AIMS: The present study examined the relationships between perceptions of self-stigma if one were to develop a substance use disorder, consisting of negative self-esteem and negative self-efficacy, and alcohol or marijuana use behaviors and outcomes. METHOD: Participants (n = 2,243; 71.5% female) were college students within the U.S. recruited to participate in an online survey on substance use with a special focus on alcohol and marijuana. RESULTS: Results indicated no significant differences in stigma scores across individuals with different lifetime alcohol and marijuana use. Stigma ratings did differ between individuals with different profiles of last 30-day alcohol and marijuana use where, generally, individuals with lifetime use but no use in the last 30-day reported higher levels of self-stigma. Correlation analyses indicated that perceived impact of substance use disorder on sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem related negatively to nearly all observed factors of alcohol and marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: Though self-stigma, and stigma more broadly, has been shown to have negative implications for people with substance use disorders, the present study suggests that for non-clinical populations there may be some protective association between perceived self-stigma and alcohol or marijuana use engagement. This is not to say that self-stigma is a positive clinical intervention. Rather, we interpret these findings to indicate that negative perceptions of substance use disorder on the sense of self may be associated with distinct alcohol and marijuana use behaviors among young adults.

Characterisation of paediatric brain tumours by their MRS metabolite profiles.

1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has the potential to improve the noninvasive diagnostic accuracy for paediatric brain tumours. However, studies analysing large, comprehensive, multicentre datasets are lacking, hindering translation to widespread clinical practice. Single-voxel MRS (point-resolved single-voxel spectroscopy sequence, 1.5 T: echo time [TE] 23-37 ms/135-144 ms, repetition time [TR] 1500 ms; 3 T: TE 37-41 ms/135-144 ms, TR 2000 ms) was performed from 2003 to 2012 during routine magnetic resonance imaging for a suspected brain tumour on 340 children from five hospitals with 464 spectra being available for analysis and 281 meeting quality control. Mean spectra were generated for 13 tumour types. Mann-Whitney U-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare mean metabolite concentrations. Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to determine the potential for individual metabolites to discriminate between specific tumour types. Principal component analysis followed by linear discriminant analysis was used to construct a classifier to discriminate the three main central nervous system tumour types in paediatrics. Mean concentrations of metabolites were shown to differ significantly between tumour types. Large variability existed across each tumour type, but individual metabolites were able to aid discrimination between some tumour types of importance. Complete metabolite profiles were found to be strongly characteristic of tumour type and, when combined with the machine learning methods, demonstrated a diagnostic accuracy of 93% for distinguishing between the three main tumour groups (medulloblastoma, pilocytic astrocytoma and ependymoma). The accuracy of this approach was similar even when data of marginal quality were included, greatly reducing the proportion of MRS excluded for poor quality. Children's brain tumours are strongly characterised by MRS metabolite profiles readily acquired during routine clinical practice, and this information can be used to support noninvasive diagnosis. This study provides both key evidence and an important resource for the future use of MRS in the diagnosis of children's brain tumours.

Quiste meniscal posterior a la sutura meniscal con monofilamento de polipropileno / Meniscal cyst after polypropylene monofilament suture

Introducción: la función del tejido meniscal es fundamental en la transmisión y distribución de cargas de la rodilla. En casos de lesión meniscal, la sutura es el tratamiento quirúrgico de elección, y pueden utilizarse diferentes materiales para realizarla. El objetivo del trabajo es analizar la aparición de quistes meniscales sintomáticos con el uso de sutura no reabsorbible del tipo monofilamento de polipropileno en un grupo de pacientes con lesiones en asa de balde y evaluar el material de sutura como causal de quiste.Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de un grupo de pacientes con lesiones en asa de balde suturadas con material no reabsorbible del tipo monofilamento de polipropileno (MP) y sutura de alta resistencia de polietileno de ultra alto peso molecular UHMWPE (SAR) y se analizó la presencia de quiste meniscal sintomático como complicación. Los criterios de inclusión para este estudio fueron pacientes con lesiones en asa de balde a los cuales se les realizó sutura meniscal con técnicas combinadas con material de tipo no reabsorbible. Se excluyeron pacientes con lesiones que no fueran con patrón en asa de balde o a los cuales se les hizo sutura meniscal todo-adentro únicamente.Resultados: un total de veinticinco pacientes, quince de sexo masculino y diez de sexo femenino. La edad media del grupo evaluado fue de 27.8 años. El 72% fue suturado con sutura de alta resistencia (SAR) mientras que a un 28% se les realizó sutura con monofilamento de polipropileno (MP). El 92% de las lesiones se presentaron en el menisco interno. Se observaron tres pacientes con quistes meniscales sintomáticos asociados a la sutura MP, los cuales fueron tratados quirúrgicamente con buena evolución. Conclusión: identificamos en nuestra serie que la aparición de quistes sintomáticos se relaciona estrechamente con el uso de monofilamento de polipropileno (MP). Consideramos la utilización de hilos no reabsorbibles de alta resistencia (polietileno de ultra alto peso molecular UHMWPE) como la primera opción para realizar las suturas meniscales por la baja tasa de complicación y los buenos resultados. Nivel de Evidencia: IV

Introduction: The function of the meniscal tissue is fundamental in the transmission and distribution of knee loads. In cases of meniscal injury, suturing is the surgical treatment of choice, and different materials can be used to perform it. The aim of the work is to analyze the appearance of symptomatic meniscal cysts with the use of non-absorbable polypropylene monofilament suture in a group of patients with bucket handle injuries and to evaluate the suture material as a cause of the cyst. Materials and methods: a retrospective study was carried out on a group of patients with bucket-handle injuries sutured with non-absorbable polypropylene monofilament (MP) material and high-strength ultra-high molecular weight UHMWPE polyethylene (SAR) suture and the presence of a symptomatic meniscal cyst as a complication was analyzed. The inclusion criteria for this study were patients with bucket-handle injuries in whom meniscal suture was performed with combined techniques with non-resorbable material. Patients with injuries other than a bucket-handle pattern or who underwent all-in meniscal suturing only were excluded.Results: a total of twenty-five patients, fifteen males and ten females. The average age of the evaluated group was 27.8 years. 72% were sutured with high resistance suture (SAR) while 28% were sutured with polypropylene monofilament (MP). 92% of the injuries occurred in the medial meniscus. Three patients were observed with symptomatic meniscal cysts associated with the MP suture, which were treated surgically with good outcomes. Conclusion: we identified in our series that the appearance of symptomatic cysts is closely related to the use of polypropylene monofilament (MP). We consider the use of high-strength non-absorbable threads (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene UHMWPE) as the first option to perform meniscal sutures due to the low complication rate and good results. Level of Evidence: IV

How to Accelerate R&D and Optimize Experiment Planning with Machine Learning and Data Science.

Accelerating R&D is essential to address some of the challenges humanity is currently facing, such as achieving the global sustainability goals. Today's Edisonian approach of trial-and-error still prevalent in R&D labs takes up to two decades of fundamental and applied research for new materials to reach the market. Turning around this situation calls for strategies to upgrade R&D and expedite innovation. By conducting smart experiment planning that is data-driven and guided by AI/ML, researchers can more efficiently search through the complex - often constrained - space of possible experiments and find or hit the global optima much faster than with the current approaches. Moreover, with digitized data management, researchers will be able to maximize the utility of their data in the short and long terms with the aid of statistics, ML and visualization tools. In what follows, we describe a framework and lay out the key technologies to accelerate R&D and optimize experiment planning.

Reposicionamiento Labial. Caso Clínico

El reposicionamiento labial es un procedimiento quirúrgico mínimamente invasivo que se utiliza para tratar una sonrisa gingival, la cual, es una afección en la que una cantidad significativa de la encía queda expuesta cuando una persona sonríe y puede deberse a una variedad de factores, como un exceso de tejido gingival, un labio superior corto o músculos hiperactivos del labio superior, entre otros. El alargamiento clínico de la corona, por otro lado, consiste en eliminar el exceso de tejido gingival y, si es necesario, el tejido óseo para exponer una mayor parte de la corona natural del diente. Se reporta un caso clínico de paciente femenino de 31 años que presentó una sonrisa gingival provocada por hipermovilidad de labio superior y un exceso de tejido gingival localizado. El plan de tratamiento involucró una combinación de reposicionamiento labial y alargamiento de corona. Los resultados estéticos fueron significativos, con la sonrisa del paciente más equilibrada y proporcionada. Se redujo la cantidad de tejido gingival expuesto cuando la paciente sonreía y la longitud de los dientes fue más visible, lo que dio como resultado una sonrisa de aspecto más natural, además de aumentar su aceptación al sonreír.

SUMMARY: Lip repositioning is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat a gummy smile, which is a condition in which a significant amount of the gum is exposed when a person smiles and may be due to a variety of factors, such as excess gum tissue, a short upper lip or overactive muscles of the upper lip, among others. Clinical crown lengthening, on the other hand, involves removing excess gingival tissue and, if necessary, bone tissue to expose more of the natural crown of the tooth. Clinical case: A clinical case of a 31-year-old female patient who presented a gummy smile caused by hypermobility of the upper lip and an excess of localized gingival tissue is reported. The treatment plan involved a combination of lip repositioning and crown lengthening. The aesthetic results were significant, with the patient's smile more balanced and displayed. The amount of the patient's exposed gum tissue when smiled was reduced and the length of the teeth was more visible, resulting in a more natural-looking smile, as well as increasing their acceptance of smiling.

Risk of Radiation Dermatitis in Patients With Skin of Color Who Undergo Radiation to the Breast or Chest Wall With and Without Regional Nodal Irradiation.

PURPOSE: Acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) is common after radiation therapy for breast cancer, with data indicating that ARD may disproportionately affect Black or African American (AA) patients. We evaluated the effect of skin of color (SOC) on physician-reported ARD in patients treated with radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We identified patients treated with whole breast or chest wall ± regional nodal irradiation or high tangents using 50 Gy in 25 fractions from 2015 to 2018. Baseline skin pigmentation was assessed using the Fitzpatrick scale (I = light/pale white to VI = black/very dark brown) with SOC defined as Fitzpatrick scale IV to VI. We evaluated associations among SOC, physician-reported ARD, late hyperpigmentation, and use of oral and topical treatments for RD using multivariable models. RESULTS: A total of 325 patients met eligibility, of which 40% had SOC (n = 129). On multivariable analysis, Black/AA race and chest wall irradiation had a lower odds of physician-reported grade 2 or 3 ARD (odds ratio [OR], 0.110; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.030-0.397; P = .001; OR, 0.377; 95% CI, 0.161-0.883; P = .025), whereas skin bolus (OR, 8.029; 95% CI, 3.655-17.635; P = 0) and planning target volume D0.03cc (OR, 1.001; 95% CI, 1.000-1.001; P = .028) were associated with increased odds. On multivariable analysis, SOC (OR, 3.658; 95% CI, 1.236-10.830; P = .019) and skin bolus (OR, 26.786; 95% CI, 4.235-169.432; P = 0) were associated with increased odds of physician-reported late grade 2 or 3 hyperpigmentation. There was less frequent use of topical steroids to treat ARD and more frequent use of oral analgesics in SOC versus non-SOC patients (43% vs 63%, P < .001; 50% vs 38%, P = .05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Black/AA patients exhibited lower odds of physician-reported ARD. However, we found higher odds of late hyperpigmentation in SOC patients, independent of self-reported race. These findings suggest that ARD may be underdiagnosed in SOC when using the physician-rated scale despite this late evidence of radiation-induced skin toxicity.

Invaginación Apendicular en preescolar: Reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura / Appendicular invagination in a pre-school child; a case-report and literature review

La invaginación intestinal sucede cuando un segmento del intestino se introduce en otro. La presentación apendicular es menos común, afectando principalmente a lactantes. Frecuentemente, se comprueba durante el intraoperatorio. El tratamiento es la desinvaginación, seguido de la exéresis del apéndice. De no lograrse, se prefiere la resección amplia o una hemicolectomía derecha. Se presenta en caso de una niña de 4 años que acudió por dolor abdominal, hiporexia, vómitos y sensación de alza térmica; la ecografía mostró conglomeración de asas intestinales e imagen redondeada. En cirugía se encontró invaginación apendicular que compromete el ciego, se resecó la masa hasta el inicio del colon ascendente. Se realizó una ileostomía sin fístula mucosa; el estudio anatomo-patológico informó necrosis del apéndice cecal. Tres meses después se restituyó el tránsito intestinal. La Intususcepción apendicular tiene síntomas inespecíficos. En Perú, puede llegar a ser mortal. Una historia clínica detallada con evaluación minuciosa ofrece un acertado diagnóstico y un tratamiento oportuno.

SUMMARY Intestinal invagination occurs when an intestinal segment is introduced into another segment. The appendicular presentation is less common and affects predominantly infants. The diagnosis is corroborated during the surgical intervention which consists of de-invagination followed by surgical removal of the appendix, if the latter is not possible then a wide resection or right hemicolectomy is indicated. We present the case of a 4-year-old girl who attended with a history of abdominal pain, anorexia, vomiting and fever; an abdominal ultrasound showed intestinal agglomeration and a rounded mass. The surgical findings included appendicular invagination that affected the cecum, the lesion was resected until the ascending colon. An ileostomy was performed, the anatomopathological findings indicated necrosis of the appendix. Three months later the normal intestinal transit was restored. Appendicular intussusception has non-specific symptoms and could be mortal in Peru. A detailed clinical history may help in diagnosing and offering proper treatment.

Radiation-induced skin changes after breast or chest wall irradiation in patients with breast cancer and skin of color: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to systematically review data pertaining to breast cancer and radiation-induced skin reactions in patients with skin of color (SOC), as well as data pertaining to objective measurements of skin pigmentation in the assessment of radiation dermatitis (RD). METHODS AND MATERIALS: We conducted a systematic review utilizing MEDLINE electronic databases to identify published studies until August 2022. Key inclusion criteria included studies that described RD in breast cancer with data pertaining to skin of color and/or characterization of pigmentation changes after radiation. RESULTS: We identified 17 prospective cohort studies, 7 cross-sectional studies, 5 retrospective studies and 4 randomized controlled trials. Prospective cohort and retrospective series demonstrate worse RD in African American (AA) patients using subjective physician-graded scales. There is more limited data in patients representing other non-White racial subgroups with SOC. 2 studies utilize patient reported outcomes and 15 studies utilize objective methods to characterize pigmentation change after radiation. There are no prospective and randomized studies that objectively describe pigmentation changes with radiotherapy in SOC. CONCLUSIONS: AA patients appear to have worse RD outcomes, though this is not uniformly observed across all studies. There are no studies that describe objective measures of RD and include baseline skin pigmentation as a variable, limiting the ability to draw uniform conclusions on the rate and impact of RD in SOC. We highlight the importance of objectively characterizing SOC and pigmentation changes before, during and after radiotherapy to understand the incidence and severity of RD in SOC.

Después de una cirugía de ligamento cruzado anterior, ¿cuándo puedo manejar? Evaluación postoperatoria de habilidades de conducción y de reacción de frenado / After anterior cruciate ligament surgery, when can I drive? Postoperative assessment of driving skills and braking reaction

Introducción: La mayoría de las personas que se someten a una reconstrucción del LCA están en edad de conducir, por lo tanto, es importante saber cuándo es seguro para el paciente reanudar la conducción. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar de manera prospectiva cuándo los pacientes recuperan las habilidades de manejo y de reacción de frenado después de la reconstrucción primaria de LCA, y compararlos con un grupo control de voluntarios sanos. Materiales y métodos: estudio prospectivo de una serie de pacientes que se sometieron a reconstrucción primaria del LCA utilizando injerto semitendinoso y recto interno. Se excluyeron pacientes en los que se empleó otro tipo de injerto o se les realizó otro gesto quirúrgico y laborales. Se evaluó la capacidad de volver a manejar de manera segura a las 2-3 semanas y a las 4-5 semanas postoperatorias mediante test de reacción simple y de resistencia a la monotonía, y se compararon los resultados con un grupo control de voluntarios sanos. Resultados: en total fueron ciento sesenta y seis pacientes, treinta fueron casos y ciento treinta y seis, controles. Se hallaron diferencias significativas (p = 0.03) entre los casos y controles en las pruebas realizadas tempranamente en cuanto a la aprobación, y no, de los test. Según el promedio en segundos obtenido en cada test realizado, se observan diferencias significativas en el primera prueba de resistencia a la monotonía (p = 0.0001) a favor del grupo control. Discusión: de acuerdo a la prueba de reacción simple y al test a la monotonía evaluados en nuestro trabajo, los pacientes que se someten a reconstrucción del LCA con autoinjertos de ST-RI están en condiciones de manejar un automóvil luego de las 4-5 semanas de la cirugía

Introduction: Most people who undergo ACL reconstruction are of driving age, it is important to know when it is safe for the patient to resume driving. The objective of this work was to prospectively evaluate when patients recover driving skills and brake reaction skills after ACL reconstruction and compare them with a control group of healthy volunteers. Materials and methods: prospective study of a series of patients who underwent primary ACL reconstruction using semitendinosus and medial rectus graft. Patients in whom another type of graft was used, or another surgical and labor gesture was performed, were excluded. The ability to return to driving safely at 2-3 weeks and 4-5 weeks postoperatively was evaluated using the simple reaction and resistance to monotony tests, and the results were compared with a control group of healthy volunteers.Results: a total of 166 patients, 30 are cases and 136 controls. Significant differences (p = 0.03) were found between cases and controls in the tests carried out early in terms of passing and not passing the tests. The relationship according to the average in seconds obtained in each test carried out, significant differences are observed in the first test of resistance to monotony (p = 0.0001) in favor of the control group. Discussion: according to the simple reaction test and the monotony test evaluated in our study, patients who undergo ACL reconstruction with ST-RI autografts are able to drive a car 4-5 weeks after surgery

En la búsqueda de predictores que nos ayuden a obtener un mejor resultado en la cirugía de revisión de ligamento cruzado anterior / In the search for predictors that help us obtain a better result in anterior cruciate ligament revision surgery

Introducción: Los factores de riesgo de re-ruptura de LCA son errores técnicos, características del injerto, lesiones meniscales, condrales o lesiones no tratadas. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue reconocer predictores modificables que nos ayuden a obtener un mejor resultado en la cirugía de revisión de LCA. Materiales y métodos: estudio descriptivo transversal. Serie de pacientes tratados en nuestro centro entre 2011 y 2021 a los cuales se les realizó cirugía de revisión de LCA. Se registraron edad, sexo, falla de cirugía primaria traumática, o no, fijación utilizada, ubicación de ambos túneles, injerto utilizado en la cirugía primaria, lesiones articulares condrales y meniscales antiguas y nuevas y tipo de injerto utilizado en cirugía de revisión. Resultados: se analizaron un total de ciento nueve pacientes. Con mayor frecuencia, los pacientes masculinos se sometieron a revisión entre los veinte y los cuarenta años. La principal causa traumática fue la práctica deportiva (40.37%), seguida de accidente de tránsito o en domicilio (7.33%) y en ambiente laboral (24.8%), y sin causa demostrable (27.5%). La mala posición del túnel femoral aislada fue la falla técnica más común en un 41.29%, sin error técnico en 38.53%, y falla de colocación de túnel tibial aislada en 2.75%. En el total de los pacientes evaluados, el 28.44% (treinta y un pacientes) no presentó lesión meniscal previa ni actual; mientras que el 71.56% (setenta y ocho pacientes) evidenció algún tipo de lesión. La elección del injerto fue autoinjerto de H-T-H (30.28%), aloinjerto de tibial posterior (30.28%), aloinjerto de tibial anterior (19.27%), autoinjerto de ST-RI (11.01%), y otros aloinjertos Aquiles, Peroneos y ST (9.17%).Discusión: serán necesarios más estudios para determinar si esta tasa de falla persiste a pesar de nuestro mayor conocimiento de la técnica y diversos aspectos de la cirugía de revisión. Nivel de Evidencia: IV

Introduction: Risk factors for ACL rupture are technical errors, graft characteristics, meniscal and chondral injuries, or untreated injuries. The objective of our work was to recognize modifiable predictors that help us obtain a better result in ACL revision surgery. Materials and methods: cross-sectional descriptive study. Series of patients treated at our center between 2011 and 2021 who underwent ACL revision surgery. Age, sex, traumatic or non-traumatic primary surgery failure, fixation used, location of both tunnels, graft used in primary surgery, old and new chondral and meniscal joint injuries and type of graft used in revision surgery were recorded. Results: a total of one hundred and nine patients were analyzed. Most often, male patients underwent revision between the ages of twenty and forty. The main traumatic cause was sports practice (40.37%), followed by traffic accident or at home (7.33%) and in the work environment (24.8%), and without demonstrable cause (27.5%). Isolated femoral tunnel malposition was the most common technical failure at 41.29%, no technical error at 38.53%, and isolated tibial tunnel placement failure at 2.75%. In all the patients evaluated, 28.44% (thirty-one patients) did not present a previous or current meniscal lesion; while 71.56% (seventy-eight patients) showed some type of injury. Graft choice was H-T-H autograft (30.28%), posterior tibial allograft (30.28%), anterior tibial allograft (19.27%), ST-RI autograft (11.01%), and other Achilles, fibular, and ST allografts (9.17%) Discussion: more studies will be necessary to determine if this failure rate persists despite our greater knowledge of the technique and various aspects of revision surgery. Level of Evidence: IV

A conserved function of Human DLC3 and Drosophila Cv-c in testis development.

The identification of genes affecting gonad development is essential to understand the mechanisms causing Variations/Differences in Sex Development (DSD). Recently, a DLC3 mutation was associated with male gonadal dysgenesis in 46,XY DSD patients. We have studied the requirement of Cv-c, the Drosophila ortholog of DLC3, in Drosophila gonad development, as well as the functional capacity of DLC3 human variants to rescue cv-c gonad defects. We show that Cv-c is required to maintain testis integrity during fly development. We find that Cv-c and human DLC3 can perform the same function in fly embryos, as flies carrying wild type but not patient DLC3 variations can rescue gonadal dysgenesis, suggesting functional conservation. We also demonstrate that the StART domain mediates Cv-c's function in the male gonad independently from the GAP domain's activity. This work demonstrates a role for DLC3/Cv-c in male gonadogenesis and highlights a novel StART domain mediated function required to organize the gonadal mesoderm and maintain its interaction with the germ cells during testis development.

Culturally enhancing a group-based motivational interviewing substance use prevention program for Latine youth.

Background: Group Motivational Interviewing for Teens (GMIT) has been effective in reducing youth substance use in diverse communities, yet more research is needed to determine its efficacy in reducing tobacco and alternative tobacco products (ATP) use among Latine adolescents. This study modified GMIT to include a focus on ATPs (GMIT-ATP). GMIT was also linguistically translated so it could be offered in English and Spanish, culturally enhanced, and parent sessions were added (GMIT-ATP + P). Methods: The study's aims were to 1) Develop a model of how cultural context, family relationships, and adolescent tobacco-related skills/beliefs are associated with smoking and ATP use; 2) Examine the impact of the GMIT-ATP intervention on adolescent tobacco use; 3) Examine whether the GMIT-ATP + P intervention improves family/parenting factors associated with reduced adolescent tobacco use; 4) Examine whether GMIT-ATP + P is more effective than GMIT-ATP in improving adolescent tobacco use; 5) Explore whether essential components of our behavior change model mediate the impact on tobacco use, and 6) Explore whether cultural factors influence the impacts of our intervention. Latine adolescents (ages 10-16) and their parents/guardians were recruited throughout Virginia. Parents and adolescents completed three surveys: before and immediately after the program ends and at 3-months post-intervention. Families attended 3 GMIT-ATP or GMIT-ATP + P sessions. Conclusion: Findings from this study will be disseminated in Latine communities and with providers working with Latine youth and can serve as a community-based model to reduce substance and tobacco use (e.g., ATP) in these Latine communities.

Metabolite selection for machine learning in childhood brain tumour classification.

MRS can provide high accuracy in the diagnosis of childhood brain tumours when combined with machine learning. A feature selection method such as principal component analysis is commonly used to reduce the dimensionality of metabolite profiles prior to classification. However, an alternative approach of identifying the optimal set of metabolites has not been fully evaluated, possibly due to the challenges of defining this for a multi-class problem. This study aims to investigate metabolite selection from in vivo MRS for childhood brain tumour classification. Multi-site 1.5 T and 3 T cohorts of patients with a brain tumour and histological diagnosis of ependymoma, medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma were retrospectively evaluated. Dimensionality reduction was undertaken by selecting metabolite concentrations through multi-class receiver operating characteristics and compared with principal component analysis. Classification accuracy was determined through leave-one-out and k-fold cross-validation. Metabolites identified as crucial in tumour classification include myo-inositol (P < 0.05, AUC=0.81±0.01 ), total lipids and macromolecules at 0.9 ppm (P < 0.05, AUC=0.78±0.01 ) and total creatine (P < 0.05, AUC=0.77±0.01 ) for the 1.5 T cohort, and glycine (P < 0.05, AUC=0.79±0.01 ), total N-acetylaspartate (P < 0.05, AUC=0.79±0.01 ) and total choline (P < 0.05, AUC=0.75±0.01 ) for the 3 T cohort. Compared with the principal components, the selected metabolites were able to provide significantly improved discrimination between the tumours through most classifiers (P < 0.05). The highest balanced classification accuracy determined through leave-one-out cross-validation was 85% for 1.5 T 1 H-MRS through support vector machine and 75% for 3 T 1 H-MRS through linear discriminant analysis after oversampling the minority. The study suggests that a group of crucial metabolites helps to achieve better discrimination between childhood brain tumours.

Clinical characteristics and evolution of hematological patients and COVID-19 in Argentina: a report from the Argentine Society of Hematology.

Individuals with malignancies and COVID-19 have a lower survival compared with the general population. However, the information about the impact of COVID-19 on the whole hematological population is scarce. We aimed to describe the 30th day overall survival (OS) after COVID-19 infection in patients with a hematological disease in Argentina. A completely anonymous survey from the Argentine Society of Hematology was delivered to all the hematologists in Argentina; it started in April 2020. A cut-off to analyze the data was performed in December 2020 and, finally, 419 patients were reported and suitable for the analysis (average age: 58 years, 90% with malignant diseases). After the COVID-19 diagnosis, the 30-day OS for the whole population was 80.2%. From the entire group (419), 101 (24.1%) individuals required intensive care unit admission, where the 30-day OS was 46.6%. Among allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients, the 30-day OS was 70.3%. Factors associated with a low OS were two or more comorbidities, an active hematological disease and history of chemotherapy. In individuals with the three factors, the 30-day OS was 49.6% while the 30-day OS in those without those factors was 100%. Patients with hematological diseases have a higher mortality than the general population. This group represents a challenge and requires careful decision-making of the treatment in order not to compromise the chances of cure.

El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo primario conocer la mortalidad de pacientes con enfermedad hematológica que presentaron infección por COVID-19 en Argentina. Para ello se difundió una encuesta desde la Sociedad Argentina de Hematología (SAH) entre los hematológos para informar sobre los pacientes con enfermedades hematológicas y diagnóstico de infección por SARS- CoV-2, entre el 19/4/2020, y el 7/12/2020. Se incluyeron individuos de todas las edades con diagnóstico de enfermedad hematológica benigna o maligna e infección por SARS-CoV-2 confirmada por técnica de RTPCR. Se analizaron 419 pacientes (mediana 58 años; 90% enfermedades malignas). La supervivencia al día 30 fue de 80.2%. La supervivencia fue menor en aquellos que requirieron internación (74.2%), cuidados intensivos (46.6%) y asistencia respiratoria mecánica (36.8%). Entre los trasplantados alogénicos la supervivencia fue 70.3%. Los factores vinculados a la supervivencia global fueron las comorbilidades, el estado de la enfermedad al momento de la infección y el antecedente de quimioterapia. Se pudo establecer un score en el que aquellos que tuvieron un puntaje de 4 alcanzaron una supervivencia del 49.6% al día 30, mientras que la de los pacientes con score 0 fue del 100% a 30 días. En comparación con la población general, los pacientes con enfermedades hematológicas presentan una mayor mortalidad vinculada al COVID-19, motivo por el cual es primordial definir pautas destinadas a disminuir la exposición de los mismos sin comprometer las posibilidades de beneficiarse del tratamiento de la enfermedad de base.

Clinical characteristics and evolution of hematological patients and COVID-19 in Argentina: a report from the Argentine Society of Hematology / Características clínicas y evolución de pacientes hematológicos y COVID-19 en Argentina: datos de la Sociedad Argentina de Hematología

Abstract Individuals with malignancies and COVID-19 have a lower survival compared with the general population. However, the information about the impact of COVID-19 on the whole hematological population is scarce. We aimed to describe the 30th day overall survival (OS) after COVID-19 infection in pa tients with a hematological disease in Argentina. A completely anonymous survey from the Argentine Society of Hematology was delivered to all the hematologists in Argentina; it started in April 2020. A cut-off to analyze the data was performed in December 2020 and, finally, 419 patients were reported and suitable for the analysis (average age: 58 years, 90% with malignant diseases). After the COVID-19 diagnosis, the 30-day OS for the whole population was 80.2%. From the entire group (419), 101 (24.1%) individuals required intensive care unit admission, where the 30-day OS was 46.6%. Among allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients, the 30-day OS was 70.3%. Factors associated with a low OS were two or more comorbidities, an active hematological disease and history of chemotherapy. In individuals with the three factors, the 30-day OS was 49.6% while the 30-day OS in those without those factors was 100%. Patients with hematological diseases have a higher mortality than the general population. This group represents a challenge and requires careful decision-making of the treatment in order not to compromise the chances of cure.

Resumen El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo primario conocer la mortalidad de pacientes con enfermedad hematológica que presentaron infección por COVID-19 en Argentina. Para ello se difundió una encuesta desde la Sociedad Argentina de Hematología (SAH) entre los hematológos para informar sobre los pacientes con enfermedades hematológicas y diagnóstico de infección por SARS- CoV-2, entre el 19/4/2020, y el 7/12/2020. Se incluyeron individuos de todas las edades con diagnóstico de enfermedad hematológica benigna o maligna e infección por SARS-CoV-2 confirmada por técnica de RT-PCR. Se analizaron 419 pacientes (mediana 58 años; 90% enfermedades malignas). La supervivencia al día 30 fue de 80.2%. La supervivencia fue menor en aquellos que requirieron internación (74.2%), cuidados intensivos (46.6%) y asistencia respiratoria mecánica (36.8%). Entre los trasplantados alogénicos la supervivencia fue 70.3%. Los factores vinculados a la supervivencia global fueron las comorbilidades, el estado de la enfermedad al momento de la infección y el antecedente de quimioterapia. Se pudo establecer un score en el que aquellos que tuvieron un puntaje de 4 alcanzaron una supervivencia del 49.6% al día 30, mientras que la de los pacientes con score 0 fue del 100% a 30 días. En comparación con la población general, los pacientes con enfermedades hematológicas presentan una mayor mortalidad vinculada al COVID-19, motivo por el cual es primordial definir pautas destinadas a disminuir la exposición de los mismos sin comprometer las posibilidades de beneficiarse del tratamiento de la enfermedad de base.

Classification of paediatric brain tumours by diffusion weighted imaging and machine learning.

To determine if apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) can discriminate between posterior fossa brain tumours on a multicentre basis. A total of 124 paediatric patients with posterior fossa tumours (including 55 Medulloblastomas, 36 Pilocytic Astrocytomas and 26 Ependymomas) were scanned using diffusion weighted imaging across 12 different hospitals using a total of 18 different scanners. Apparent diffusion coefficient maps were produced and histogram data was extracted from tumour regions of interest. Total histograms and histogram metrics (mean, variance, skew, kurtosis and 10th, 20th and 50th quantiles) were used as data input for classifiers with accuracy determined by tenfold cross validation. Mean ADC values from the tumour regions of interest differed between tumour types, (ANOVA P < 0.001). A cut off value for mean ADC between Ependymomas and Medulloblastomas was found to be of 0.984 × 10-3 mm2 s-1 with sensitivity 80.8% and specificity 80.0%. Overall classification for the ADC histogram metrics were 85% using Naïve Bayes and 84% for Random Forest classifiers. The most commonly occurring posterior fossa paediatric brain tumours can be classified using Apparent Diffusion Coefficient histogram values to a high accuracy on a multicentre basis.